Blinded by Love
by khollie
Summary: What happens when you finish a case and nothing is wrong? The answer may just kill A.J.


**Blinded by Love**

by Deanna Jordon

"I can assure you Mrs. Burrows, your husband is not having an affair." A.J. Simon leaned forward and rested his arms on his desk. He smiled at the woman seated on the far side of his desk. "I personally visited his office every evening with the janitor crew and he was there, working, and quite alone. You have no reason to worry."

"And does your brother agree?" Mrs. Burrow's tone was caustic. The woman was slightly built with flaming red hair to match her pale skin. The clothes she wore were finely tailored and suited her well. She clearly didn't want to believe that her husband really wasn't having an affair.

"Yes ma'am. I've told you how we work. He watched during the day and I did it at night. We've followed him for two weeks and nothing happened. I really don't believe you have anything to worry about." A.J. struggled mightily to keep from sighing. Most clients would be relieved to hear this kind of report, but this one was being very difficult. Rick had even remarked that her husband probably stayed away on purpose. A.J. fully agreed.

Mrs. Burrows stood up and threw an envelope on the desk. "Here's your fee, though I shouldn't pay you for doing nothing. I shall tell everyone I know that you are totally inept and know absolutely nothing about being an investigator. Good day!" She stomped out of the office and A.J. could hear her high heels pounding down the hall to the elevator.

A.J. rolled his head back and closed his eyes. This was one of the times he really hated working divorce cases. You could never tell how the client was going to react. He had to admit though; this was the first time he'd ever been chewed out for not finding anything wrong. Taking a deep breath, he leaned forward again to finish the paperwork on Mrs. Burrow's case.

A.J. and his brother Rick ran a small private investigation firm in San Diego. They had been in business about five years and had seen their fair share of divorces, car repossessions, and even dog napping. In between, they had solved a number of major crimes including kidnapping, smuggling and even murder. All in all, it was a good job and kept them on their toes.

Two hours later, A.J. had finished his paperwork on the Burrows case and gone over a file for a court date that was coming up soon. A.J. finished his coffee and looked at his watch. Rick was due soon to pick him up. The two had arranged to go to a benefit basketball game with another friend, Lt. M.P. "Downtown" Brown of the local police department. Town and the brothers frequently worked together and had become fast friends. A.J. decided to go downstairs and wait for his ride.

Just as he was leaving, the phone rang. "Simon and Simon Investigations." There was no answer. A.J. tried again. "Simon and Simon Investigations can I help you?"

"Drop dead." The connection was broken as the caller hung up. A.J. stared at the phone and shrugged his shoulders. "You have a nice day too," he said as he replaced the receiver. He put the incident out of his mind as he went to join his friends.

"Man what a great game!" Rick opened the back door to his brother's house and walked in carrying an oversized bag of popcorn and sporting a baseball cap instead of his usual cowboy-style hat.

"Sure if you like to watch a totally scoreless half a game." A.J. closed the door behind him and walked over to his favorite chair. He dropped down and laid his head on the back.

"What is your problem? We finished a job, got paid, now it's time to have fun." Rick got himself a beer and sat on the couch facing his brother. He listened as A.J. told him about their client's reaction to the news that her husband wasn't cheating. He was still puzzling over it when the phone rang. He watched his brother get up to answer it.

"Hello. Hello, who is this? ... Same to you." A.J. put the phone down and looked at his brother. "That's two in one day."

"Two what?"

"I'm not sure. All they said was "Drop dead". Did I make someone mad? Does someone really want to kill me, or am I getting your phone calls by mistake? Whom have you been out with lately?"

Rick looked at him with a mixture of concern and humor on his face. "Nobody who'd want to kill me, though Janet said something about a boyfriend, "...naw" Rick shook his head and stood up. "I'm off to bed. See ya in the morning." With that, Rick walked out the patio doors to his boat that was parked in his brother's back yard.

The next morning dawned bright and clear. Rick awoke to sunlight streaming in the windows of his cabin. He dressed and went inside to find a cup of coffee. He was surprised to find his brother sitting in the same chair, asleep but still in his clothes from the previous night. Frowning, Rick went about the business of making coffee. As soon as it was ready, he poured a cup for his brother and went over to him. Sitting on the edge of the couch, he reached out with one hand and shook his brother. "A.J., up and at 'em."

"What?!" A.J. sat up straight and tried to get his bearings. He settled back when he saw his brother. "Thanks." He took the coffee Rick offered and took a long drink.

"Want to tell me about it?" Rick poured a cup of coffee for himself and sat back down.

"Nothing much to tell. Just the same message, in different forms, every hour on the hour all night."

"This is going beyond a joke. Let's go see Town." Rick stood up and pulled A.J. to his feet. "I'll even buy you breakfast on the way."

"OK, just let me shower and change. You can plug the phone back in if you want." Wearily, A.J. disappeared around the corner of the living room and up the stairs.

Rick watched as his brother walked upstairs to his room to shower and change. He didn't want to admit how worried he was that A.J. hadn't argued. His younger brother was very much into taking care of himself and didn't like people thinking he needed help in anything. For A.J. to not even pretend to put up a fight about seeing the police shook up Rick more than he cared to admit. He walked over to the telephone and plugged it in, feeling a sense of dread even as he did so. He sat with his hand on the phone, waiting for it to ring. Two minutes later, it did just that.

"Hello."

"Tell your brother, he's a dead man." Click, the line went dead. Rick just stared at the phone in his hand. He finally hung up the receiver, and sat, sipping his coffee and trying to figure out who would want his brother dead but not him. The caller obviously knew the difference in the brother's voices and was only after the younger of the two. Rick knew that he wouldn't be leaving his brother alone for any length of time until they caught whoever was on the other end of the phone.

"Let's go." A.J. came down the stairs putting on his light jacket. Rick noticed that his brother had dressed in casual clothes instead of his regular suit. He thought his brother looked better in the casual clothes but knew that it meant A.J. was expecting trouble. A.J. walked out the door, not even bothering to ask who had called on the phone. Rick got the impression that A.J. knew the answer.

The two went out and climbed into Rick's pickup, a dirty, oversized Dodge Power Wagon. They preferred the truck to A.J.'s Camero when they were expecting trouble. They had only gone a short distance when A.J. broke the silence.

"Let's stop at the office first. I want to grab a few files to look at over breakfast. Maybe we can come up with a name or two before we go see Town."

"Did you recognize anything about the voice on the phone? Was it a man or a woman, any accent?"

"I couldn't tell. Whoever it was was doing a good job of disguising their voice. Did you catch anything?" A.J. looked at Rick, knowing full well who had been on the phone before they had left.

"No, only that whoever it was knew I wasn't you. This creep is definitely looking for you. That makes it two against one, our favor." Rick spared his brother a look that told A.J. he wasn't joking. As different as the two brothers were, they were closer than most siblings. More than once, each had willingly put his life on the line for his brother.

Moments later, Rick pulled into the parking lot in front of the building where their office was located. The antique building was in the process of being restored to its 1940's ambiance. The office of Simon and Simon Investigations occupied a large corner office on the third floor. A silence fell between the men as they took the antique elevator up to their office. Rick made sure he was in front as they got off the elevator. He stopped short and flung out his hand to stop A.J. Drawing his gun, Rick motioned to the open door to their office. A.J. nodded and pulled his gun to cover Rick as his brother edged over to the door and pushed it open. A.J. noticed that the glass had been broken out and the door opened from the inside. Holding his gun in both hands, Rick pushed open the door and looked inside. He relaxed upon seeing the tall black man standing in the middle of the room. Rick holstered his gun and walked into the office, clearing the way for his brother to see what was going on. Likewise, A.J. tucked his gun into his holster and let out a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here Town?" A.J. asked their guest.

"Good morning to you, too. I came down here to see if you two were all right. A woman called the station this morning to warn us that you were in danger. I called but didn't get an answer here or at your house so here I am. Looks like someone else was here looking for you as well." Town pointed to A.J.'s desk. A knife was stuck in the top of his legal pad. The words "Good-bye A.J." were printed on the top page.

"Looks like whoever it was got tired of calling." Rick commented as he rummaged in the closet for a plastic bag. He held it open for A.J. to deposit the knife in as the both of them brought Town up to date on the mysterious caller. Just as Rick was finishing, A.J. noticed the answering machine was blinking. He hit the button to hear the waiting message.

"You're a dead man Simon." The same message was repeated in five other calls. A.J. took the tape out of the machine and gave it to Town.

"See what your lab boys can come up with on this would ya? This clown is really beginning to get on my nerves." A.J. sat down in his chair and turned it to face the window. Rick and Town looked at each other, silently promising to stay with A.J. until his tormentor was caught.

"So, how about that breakfast you wanted, A.J." Rick rubbed his hands together. "You want to join us, Town?"

"As long as it isn't one of George's chili, cheese, and onion omelets. I'm still trying to get rid of the heartburn from the last one I ate." Town looked at A.J. "You coming?"

"Sure. Anything is better than sitting here waiting for the phone to ring." A.J. spun back around and stood up. He pulled a handful of files from the file cabinet in the corner and followed his brother to the door. He was careful about shutting the door in order to preserve any fingerprints that might still be there. He knew he should stay and dust for prints himself but this time he was willing to let the local police do it. He could hear Town telling Rick that his car was in the alley around the side of the building. He would call into headquarters then meet the two of them at the restaurant.

On the ground floor, Rick and Town nonchalantly stepped ahead of A.J. as they went out the door. Automatically, all three of them scanned the area for any threats before splitting up. A.J. went left towards the far side of the truck while Rick and Town stood beside the driver's door. Without warning, shots rang out, hitting the truck and forcing Rick and Town to duck for cover. Both men had their guns out and ready in a second.

"A.J.! You okay?! A.J.!" Rick shouted above the roar of gunfire as he spotted a figure on the roof above him. He squeezed off a couple of fast shots just as Town got off a trio of rounds. Both men saw the figure on the roof rise and run. Knowing that pursuit would be fruitless, the friends stood and holstered their weapons. Rick ran over to the passenger side of the truck and saw his worst nightmare come true. A.J. lay face up on the ground, bleeding from a nasty wound to the side of his head.

"Town! Get an ambulance!" Rick sank to the ground next to his brother and felt for a pulse. "He's alive! Get some help here!" Working quickly, Rick pulled out a handkerchief from his back pocket and held it against the wound, trying to staunch the seepage of blood. He placed a hand gently on his brother's chest and felt the slow rise and fall that told him that A.J. was alive. He could hear Town on the radio in his car and sensed that a number of bystanders had gathered around. He was vaguely aware of Town sitting beside him.

"Hold on, A.J. Just hold on. Help's on the way. " Town gripped Rick's shoulder giving him all the support he could. In the distance, he could hear the sirens approaching fast. "Just hold on to him Rick."

Rick stood in front of the window in the emergency room waiting area. He was looking out at the parking lot but all he could see was his brother, lying on the ground, possibly dying, all because Rick hadn't checked the roof for danger. Guilt pulled Rick's shoulders down and colored his thoughts. He tried to figure out what to say to his mother when she arrived. How would he tell her that he had broken his promise to keep A.J. safe? He knew that Town had gone to get Cecilia himself instead of detailing someone to do it. He both needed and dreaded his mother's arrival.

"Rick?" Rick turned at his mother's voice. "Oh Rick, are you all right?" Cecilia hugged her son to her tightly. The small woman was almost dwarfed by her son's six-foot plus height but that didn't stop her from holding him as tightly as she had when he was much younger. "Town told me what happened. You weren't hit were you?" Cecilia looked up at Rick.

"I'm okay Mom. But A.J., I should have..." Rick dropped the embrace and turned away.

Cecilia grabbed his arm and forced him to turn back to her. "You did everything you could. You are not to blame for A.J. getting shot. He is going to need both of us now. You can just quit blaming yourself." Cecilia once again wrapped herself in her son's arms. "Have you heard anything yet?"

"Not yet." Just as Rick paused, a small black woman wearing surgical scrubs came up to them.

"Mr. Simon?"

"I'm Rick Simon. This is my mother Cecilia and our friend Lt. Brown of the SDPD. How's my brother?"

"I'm Dr. Murray. Your brother is stable for now. The bullet grazed the side of his head but didn't enter the skull. The problem now is the concussion and swelling caused when he hit the ground so hard. His head took a very hard blow. We can counteract some of the swelling with medication but not all of it. There is another problem that concerns us. The optic nerve is also swelling. Right now, there is no way to tell how much of his vision is involved."

"Are you trying to tell us A.J.'s blind?" Rick held on to his mother even more tightly. He guided his mother to a chair and sat her down gently.

"I'm afraid we must accept that possibility. It could be temporary, it could be permanent, and it could be anything in between. Right now, there is no way to tell. We'll have to wait until he wakes up. Right now, we can't even tell when that will be." The doctor put a hand on Cecilia's shoulder. "We are doing everything we can."

Now Cecilia looked up at the doctor, "Can we see him?"

"Yes. Come with me." Dr. Murray led the way to a room by the nurse's station. She opened the door and ushered the three in. She stood by the door while the others approached the bed.

Cecilia laid her hand on A.J.'s face and tried to smile through her tears. She held one hand over her mouth as if to hold them back. She looked at Rick across the bed, tears forming in his own eyes as he reached down and gripped A.J.'s hand. "A.J. can you hear me? I'm here and so are mom and Town. We're all here." Rick was surprised to feel his hand being gripped in return. He shot a look at his mom to see if she noticed it. He could tell by her tremulous smile that she had. "Just relax, little brother. Everything's going to be all right. We're right here." The slight pressure eased off his hand and Rick imagined he could see A.J. relax into the pillow.

Cecilia motioned for Rick and Town to join her at the door. "I'll stay here with him. He's going to need someone here when he wakes up. I want you two to find whoever did this." Cecilia's face was hard set and Rick couldn't help thinking that he had never seen his mother with that look on her face. He had never thought of his mother as the vindictive sort, but right now he wasn't sure.

Dr. Murray gave her consent for Cecilia to stay in the room with A.J. She seemed to sense that her opinion didn't matter and she did want someone present when her patient awoke. She gave Cecilia a few instructions, then left to make her rounds. Town also left, promising to return as quickly as possible. He wanted to go check out the roof himself for any clues that might still be present. Rick walked him down to the garage, telling his mother that he would be right back.

Cecilia sat down by her son's bedside and held his hand. She knew that he had been hurt badly before but nothing compared to his loss of sight. She rose again and wetted a washcloth to hold against the blond head. She could hear the child that A.J. used to be running to her and needing comforting for some small scrape. How she wished that motherly love and a kiss would heal this wound. Instead of some words of motherly wisdom, all Cecilia had were words of prayer.

A.J. had begun to toss and turn by the time Rick returned. He wasn't truly conscious yet, but was very restless and appeared to be dreaming. Without warning he sat up straight in bed and yelled, "Rick!"

Rick jumped up from his chair by the bed and grabbed his brother by the shoulders. "I'm here A.J. I'm okay. Just lie down and rest. You're going to be okay but you need your rest." Gently, Rick eased the patient back down to the pillows and pulled the light blanket up. He kept a tight grip on his hand and leaned down close to A.J. "Just sleep now, we'll talk later. Just rest. Mom's right here, and so am I. You're not alone." Rick continued to whisper reassurances to A.J. until he could see him relax and drift back into a more peaceful rest. Only then did he release A.J.'s hand and sit back down. Cecilia, who had watched but hadn't spoken, went over to her oldest and sat on the arm of the chair. She hugged him from the side and rocked him ever so gently.

"How did you know he doesn't like to be alone? He never told anyone but me."

"Little things mostly. He's never really pushed me to get my boat out of his yard. He makes sure my bills get paid. He's always there, quiet, non-demanding, but there and he seems more relaxed. I've heard him having nightmares a couple of times, and I woke him up once. His only remark was 'Good, you're home' then he went back to sleep. He never even remembered it." Rick leaned into his mom, taking support from her rocking movements, his eyes carefully watching A.J.'s pale face.

"He started having them when you went off to war. He never talked about them, until the day he heard you had signed up for a second tour. He didn't sleep for almost a week. He was terrified that if he went to sleep, you'd never come home. It was as if he was trying to make sure you were coming home. You were all he had left. I was sure he was going to join the Marines to try and find you. Your letters telling him not to were the best things for him. Since then, he's never liked being alone. Being by himself by choice for a short time yes, but not truly alone." Cecilia stood up to face Rick. "You were there for him them and he's going to need you now. Whatever happens, we can handle it."

Rick stood up and gathered her into his arms. "I love you Mom" was all he said as he held her tightly and let the tears flow down his cheeks.

When Town arrived a couple of hours later, both of them had fallen asleep in the awkward hospital room chairs. He went over to Rick and gently shook him awake.

"Rick, wake up." Town moved back quickly. He knew that Rick's reflexes would knock him down if he wasn't careful. He was right. Rick shot up out of the chair with his hand on the butt of his gun looking around for whatever had woken him up. He relaxed when he saw Town and sat back down. "Good to see you too." Town told him as he handed Rick the coffee and bag of hamburgers he had brought up.

"Thanks. Did you find out anything?" Rick asked.

"Sure did. The lab boys said the voice on the tape was a woman."

"A woman?" Cecilia sat up and yawned. She accepted the cup of coffee Town handed her and looked at both of them for an explanation. Whatever Town was going to say was lost when A.J. began moving and moaning.

Instantly, Rick and Cecilia were by his side, each holding on tight to one of his hands. A.J.'s eyes fluttered open and he looked up at the ceiling blinking his eyes.

"Wake up, honey. You can do it, come on, wake up and talk to us." Cecilia was following the doctor's instructions to try and stimulate the patient. Town left to find the duty nurse and tell her to come in.

"Mom?" A.J.'s voice was weak. "Mom, where am I? What's going on?"

"You're in the hospital. You were shot remember?" Rick put in.

"I remember standing by the truck, then nothing." A.J. began to look around the room.

"I can't see! Mom what's wrong, I can't see." His voice began to rise in panic and he tried to sit up.

Rick gripped him by the shoulders and pushed him back down on the pillows. "You hurt your head. That's why you can't see. Lay down and relax."

"I'm blind!"

"I know. But you are going to get better if you just relax." Just then the door opened and the duty nurse as well as Dr. Murray entered the room. Rick stepped aside to let the doctor get close to A.J.

"Mr. Simon. Please calm down. I'm Dr. Murray. Let me have a look." Quickly she grasped his chin and forced him to face her. She took her pencil light and shone it into his eyes. "Please listen to me. You have a concussion. The swelling is pressing on your optic nerve. "

"You mean I'm blind forever?" Dismay colored his tone.

"I don't know that. Concussion does funny things to people. We really don't have a great deal of knowledge about the brain and it's workings. It may clear up in a few days or months..."

"Or never." The words struck Cecilia like a knife. She tightened her grip on A.J.'s hand and spoke to him.

"Yes, you will see again. Don't you dare think like that. You will see again." She bent down and hugged him to her. A.J. returned the hug but continued to look blankly at the wall. Rick motioned for the doctor to step out into the hall with him.

"Now what do we do?" Rick asked her.

"Now we wait. I'll run another CT scan tomorrow and look for signs that the swelling is going down. After that is done, you can take him home. I'll give him some medication for pain and to continue to decrease the swelling but the best thing for him is to rest. See to it that he stays quiet and the next week should tell us the rest of the story." With that, Dr. Murray patted Rick on the arm and left. Rick leaned back against the wall just long enough to compose himself and then went back into the room.

The next afternoon, Rick and Cecilia drove A.J. home. A.J. had turned stubborn. He insisted on doing things for himself and had demanded to go back to his own house. He fidgeted while Rick unlocked the door and pushed his way inside.

"See I can manage just fine." A.J.'s tone was almost haughty. "If I'm going to be blind, I might as well get used to it. How about a beer, Rick?" He felt his way along the counter until he got to the fridge, opened it, and promptly knocked a half-gallon of milk onto the floor.

"Let me clean that up, A.J." Cecilia said gently. "You go lay down and rest. The doctor said you needed to rest to finish healing up."

"I'm fine, Mother. Why don't you go baby someone else?"

"I don't happen to have anywhere else to go. Now go lie down and rest or I'll take you upstairs myself. You haven't gotten so old that you don't have to listen to me. Now go!" Cecilia had her hands on her hips and pointed to the stairs, forgetting for the moment that her son couldn't see her. She did relax when she saw A.J. drop his shoulders in defeat and turn toward the stairs.

A.J. felt his way across the living room to the wall by the stairs. He was aware of Rick watching him but refused to ask for assistance. He also felt bad for yelling at his mom. He knew that she was only trying to help and that his attitude stemmed from the fear in his soul. He wasn't sure that he could live blind. Deep down he wasn't really sure he wanted to. Sighing in weariness and pain, he turned the corner and went upstairs to his bedroom, holding both hands against the wall, both to feel his way and to steady himself.

Rick heard the door close upstairs and sat down heavily on the padded barstool facing the kitchen. "I don't know what to do for him Mom," he said staring at the top of the counter in front of him. "I don't know what to say, when to help or don't help. I know he's got to be scared and hurting, and needing something but I don't have a clue what it is." Now Rick looked at his mother. "What if he doesn't regain his sight? What then?"

Cecilia walked over and faced Rick directly. "I don't know. What I do know is that we cannot let him give up. We have to believe that he will recover and that life as we know it will go on. Right now, the best thing is to do what you normally do. Find out who tried to kill him and why. Involve him as much as possible. Take his mind off the negative and put it on the positive. He will see again and the person responsible for this will go to prison. Now, you go talk to Town and let me clean up here. A.J. will probably sleep the rest of the day after I give him the next dose of painkillers and medication. Tomorrow will take care of itself." Cecilia put a hand on Rick's arm and then grabbed the mop out of the closet to clean up the milk.

Rick left to go see Town at police headquarters. He drove not thinking of his route and was surprised to find himself pulling up at the office building where he and A.J. spent so much of their time. He went upstairs and walked down the hall slowly. He grimaced when he saw the broken glass in the door and walked in. He began to clean up the broken glass and restore the office to order. He called a glass smith to come in and fix the broken door and then sat down at his brother's desk. He noticed the light on the answering machine and pushed the button to hear the messages. The first made his blood run cold.

"I tried and I'll try again. You're a dead man Simon." The message was repeated in various forms on three other messages. This time, Rick could tell that the caller was definitely a woman. With that in mind, he gathered up the files that A.J. had pulled together. Town had been kind enough to rescue them and put them back in the office. The top file caught Rick's attention right away. It was the Burrows case that had puzzled A.J. Rick decided to go and speak to Mrs. Burrows and see if he could pick up any leads at all. He put in a call to Town to see if he wanted to accompany him. Town said yes right away and suggested that Rick pick him up.

Ten minutes later, Rick pulled up at police headquarters and found Town standing on the curb waiting for him. He climbed in and Rick drove on to the Burrows house. It was a quite simple but expensive estate with sweeping rose gardens and a curved driveway. Rick parked the Power Wagon in front of the wide front steps and climbed out. He pulled his green jacket down over his hips and straightened his cowboy hat as he walked to the front door. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Town making minute adjustments to his own clothing. Rick reached for the doorbell and heard a series of chimes ringing inside. He shook his head slightly at the sound and waited patiently for the door to open.

"Yes, can I help you?" The speaker was a dark haired man in his early 40's. The sweater and slacks he wore were like the house, simple yet expensive.

"I hope so. My name is Richard Simon and..."

"So she did call you. Let me guess, you're here to see my wife. She wants you to follow me around and try to get pictures of me having an affair with a twenty-year-old blond with a beautiful face and a model's body. " He noticed the look that Rick and Town shared. "Oh it's no secret, she's done this before. Please come in." Mr. Burrows opened the door wide and ushered his guests into his office just off the main entryway. "Please have a seat." He pointed to a pair of comfortable leather chairs facing a huge redwood desk by the window. "Now I know that Clara wants to hire you. I found your card this morning. "

"Actually sir, my brother and I finished up work on the case two days ago. We gave our report to your wife. "

"And you found nothing, correct? You're good. I never noticed anything. The last one she hired I spotted the first day and paid him off. My hat is off to you. Did my wife tell you why she hired you?" Mr. Burrows steepled his fingers and rested them under his chin. "Let me guess. I'm never home, I have phone calls at odd hours, I work late several nights a week, we have separate bedrooms. It's all true. I run a very big company that takes all my time and she needs to prove that I am being unfaithful before she can contest the prenuptial agreement she signed. You see, my family ran the business quite successfully, and my father had already made a small fortune when I met Clara. She was a housekeeper for a friend of my father's but we fell in love. Father was furious when we announced our intention to marry. He went on and on about how she was only after my money and would divorce me and take it all away. Of course, we really were in love. To make peace with my father, we signed a prenuptial agreement. If she left me, she got nothing but a small allowance. If I ever forswore my vows and had an affair, she gets the divorce and half of everything. That was twelve years ago. Now, she has tried everything in her power to declare that agreement void, but it is ironclad. So, she keeps hiring detectives to follow me around, just hoping to catch me out. I, on the other hand have kept my end of the agreement. I have never cheated on her, and in the interests of keeping my business, I won't agree to a divorce on those grounds. She can't file for divorce without giving up the lifestyle that she is quite comfortable with now. You see, it's really quite a comedy."

Town cleared his throat and spoke up. "That's quite a story. Now I need to ask to speak to your wife, since she was a client of Rick and A.J.'s. I have a few questions about another matter. A.J. was shot yesterday, and..."

"And you think my wife might have had something to do with it?" Mr. Burrow's eyebrows went up in amazement.

"Not necessarily, we just want to know if she noticed anyone hanging around the building or heard anything that might shed some light on what happened," Town explained.

"Now I know what happened. I read about a shooting of a local detective in the paper this morning. That was your brother?" Burrow's turned to Rick. "Is he all right?"

"He will be. All we know is that someone was making threats against him lately, and your wife was the last one in the office the day before the shooting. We just want to ask her if she had any information that might help me find who did it." Rick stood up and extended his hand.

Burrows stood and shook the proffered hand. "I'll let my wife know you want to talk to her. She is out at her club right now. She'll be home in a couple of hours, and I'll have her call you." He then escorted his visitors to the door and closed it softly behind them.

Rick and Town climbed back into the Power Wagon and drove back to the police station. Once inside, the two threaded their way through the outer office and back to Town's office. Rick closed the door behind them and stood facing it, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"What do think, Town? Do you buy that story of his?" Rick rolled his head around, trying to loosen the tension in his neck.

"It sounds really good. He keeps his lousy marriage, and he keeps his money. He agrees to a divorce and he loses half. She's stuck. It does explain why she blew up at A.J." Town leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers. His dark face wore his "I'm thinking" frown that Rick knew so well.

"At any rate, we can't say that she has anything to do with the attack on A.J. I'm going to go through all of the recent parole reports and see if anything pops up. Why don't you go home and bring A.J. up to speed. Maybe he can think of something."

"Yea I guess that's all I can do until we get more information. Thanks Town. Keep me posted on whatever you find out."

With Town's promise in hand, Rick left the station and went back to his brother's house.

Once there, he was surprised to see his brother out on the patio. He was listening to a ball game on the radio. Rick saw him pick up his head at the sound of boots echoing against the wooden deck. A.J. reached out and turned off the radio.

"Is that you Rick?" He called.

"Yea it's me. How're you feeling? Mom said you'd probably sleep the rest of the day." Rick sat down opposite his brother and tilted his hat back. He studied A.J.'s pale face. He knew that his brother was in pain, but he didn't know how or if he should react. A.J.'s temper tantrum earlier had struck a nerve. How could he let his brother be independent if he couldn't see?

"I'm okay. Mom and I had a long talk then she went to the market. I don't want to sleep while we have a case. I've got to find out who did this and why. What did you and Town find out?" A.J. turned his head toward the sound of Rick's voice. His voice was a bit slurred from the pain medications he had been taking.

Briefly, Rick filled A.J. in on what they had discovered about Mr. and Mrs. Burrows. A.J. frowned as though he was trying to remember something. "I admit that the story is a little crazy, but not crazy enough to kill over, is it?"

"Hard to tell. Burrows Industries is worth quite a bit..."

"Burrows Industries, now that rings a bell. Last year in the paper, there was a story about Burrows Industries. The old man had died and left everything to his son. The last I heard, the company was worth about fifteen million dollars. That might be a motive for murder, don't you think?" A.J. asked.

"Might be, if she got part of the company and not just part of her husband's money. It's something to check into." Rick scratched his head. He was trying to think of a way to bring up his brother's blindness without hurting A.J. more.

A.J. smiled softly and reached out a hand toward his brother's voice. Rick caught it and clasped it. "I'm okay Rick. Like I said, Mom and I had a long talk. I just have to make a few adjustments. We're not even sure if it's permanent or not. Right now, I'm just taking life one day at a time. I can still help on this case."

"OK junior, so what's our next move?" Rick dropped his brother's hand and leaned back in his chair. For his brother's sake, Rick was willing to give Nature a chance. Being busy and useful were two of A.J.'s most basic traits. Rick knew that A.J. needed to feel busy and useful now.

"We follow the one lead we have. Mr. Burrows isn't having an affair, what about Mrs. Burrows? It would give her a reason to want a divorce. And half of fifteen million dollars might be worth playing a very dangerous game." A.J. cocked his head to one side. "You might try finding out more about her day at her club. You might find something very interesting."

Rick scratched his forehead and thought about what A.J. had said. It did make a lot of sense. "I'll do that. Town is going over the recent parole reports just to see if we have any old friends getting out of jail. He said he'd come by later today. Maybe we should..." A knocking at the back door interrupted Rick.

Rick placed his hand on A.J.'s arm as a signal to keep quiet. He put his hand on his gun and stood before whispering to for A.J. to continue. A.J. understood Rick's caution. He raised his voice warily. "Back here!" He could hear footsteps coming around the back of the house to the deck.

"I'm looking for an Andrew Simon?" A male voice inquired.

"I'm A.J. What can I do for you?" A.J. had turned his head toward the sound of his visitor's voice.

"I'm from Home Health Services. The hospital sent me. I'm supposed to set up a schedule with you for temporary home health care." The man walked over to the round deck table. "My name is Carl Sands."

Rick released his hold on his gun and held out his hand to the newcomer. He studied him as they shook hands. The man was tall with piercing green eyes, dark hair and a mustache. He wore a badge with his name on it pinned to the left side of his shirt. "Nice to meet you. I'm Rick Simon. Please sit down." He pointed to a third chair.

"Thank you. Now Mr. Simon, I didn't get a lot of information on your case before I came, but let me tell you what our job usually entails. We can help you with shopping, cooking, personal care, therapy, and medications. This is just for a short time to help you get back into your normal routine. Why don't we start by getting some background information and then setting up a schedule?" Sands opened up the notebook he was carrying and took out a pen.

A.J. turned his head toward his brother. "It looks like I'm gonna be busy for a few minutes. Mom will be back soon so why don't you go ahead and check out that club. I'll be all right. Doc Murry mentioned something about sending someone over."

"I should stick around and see what else you need. Besides Mom will probably be bringing back some lunch. We need to eat." Rick really didn't want to leave A.J. with a total stranger.

"I'll be fine. No one is going to try anything as long as there is someone here. You go on. I don't need to be babied." A.J. didn't add that it was getting harder to keep up his pretense of feeling fine. The pain in his head was increasing and he desperately wanted to go in and lay down. He knew that Rick was taking his injury personally and he had to reassure him.

Rick could see the pain etched on A.J.'s face. Maybe if he left, A.J. would go back to bed. He too remembered the doctor suggesting the home health aide. He checked his watch. The time was 1:50. "I'll just go to the office and make a few phone calls. You can call me there if you need to," Rick relented.

"Good. Now will you just go? Carl and I have a few things to go over and then Mom will be back. She said she'd be here by two," A.J. said.

"I'll see you in about an hour then." Rick was uncomfortable with his decision to leave but comforted himself with the thought that he would stay outside the house until he saw his mother's car pull in. He turned and walked down the side of the house to where his truck was parked. He didn't see the venomous face of Carl Sands watching his every move.

"Why don't we go inside and you can explain what we need to do." Sands suggested to A.J.

"Sure." A.J. stood up and wobbled a bit. He caught himself on the edge of the table to steady himself. He didn't protest when Sands took him by the arm and helped him inside the house. It had taken all of his strength to appear unhurt to his brother, but the pain in his head was increasing and all he wanted to do was to lie down.

Once inside the house, A.J. told Sands where to find his pain medication. Sands opened it and shook out two pills. He gave them to A.J. along with a glass of water. Once the blond detective had swallowed the pills, Sands spoke to him again.

"Why don't I help you to your room to lie down. I can straighten up here and then leave. I'll be back tomorrow." Sands sneered at A.J. knowing that the man couldn't see his face.

"That sounds like a good idea. I will just lay here on the couch though." A.J. stretched out on the couch.

"Makes it easier for me to keep an eye on you then." Sands said, making sure to keep his voice light. He busied himself in the kitchen making more coffee and sweeping the floor until he was sure that A.J. was fast asleep. He them quietly made his way out onto the deck and the telephone that was on the table there.

"Yea, it's me. Of course he's alive. Naw, he's blind. Sure he believes me. I'll do it tomorrow. Have to convince his family I'm okay to leave him with. See ya. Love ya too." Sands put down the phone and re-entered the house. He had just finished putting away the broom when Cecilia Simon walked in the back door.

"Hello. " Cecelia said to the stranger. She stood there with the grocery bag in her arms, not really trusting the man in her son's kitchen.

Sands smiled widely and held out his hand to her. "I'm Carl Sands from Home Health Services. The hospital sent me." He took the groceries and placed them on counter by the sink.

Cecilia felt herself relax. She had seen Rick outside in his truck and knew he was waiting for her to return. They had waved as Rick drove off. Cecilia allowed herself to begin breathing again. If Rick had left, everything was okay. She smiled at the aide. "I'm Cecilia Simon. Where's A.J.?"

"He's asleep on the couch, Mrs. Simon. I gave him more of his pain medication about ten minutes ago. Your other son was here but left. I need to leave now. I'll return at one tomorrow to see if A.J. needs anything." Carl shook Cecilia's hand and left.

Rick entered the office and just stood in the center of the room. It felt very strange being here knowing that A.J. was at home hurt. He startled as the phone rang. Rick flipped on the recorder on the answering machine, just in case it was A.J.'s attacker calling back.

"Mr. Simon, my name is Clara Burrows. My husband said you were looking for me?" The voice on the end of the line was hard and unfriendly.

"Yes ma'am. My name is Rick Simon. I wanted to ask you about your appointment with my brother the other day."

"What about it? He said you had finished your so-called investigation and I left."

"Mrs. Burrows. My brother was shot the day before yesterday. I was wanting to know if you noticed anything or anyone around the office that might have looked unusual." Rick was biting his tongue in an effort to be polite to the woman.

"Maybe if your brother was a better detective, someone wouldn't have shot him. Don't expect me to help. I don't care." With that the phone was slammed down.

"Wow." Rick remarked to himself. He absently turned off the recorder and took out the tape. He had absolutely no way to prove it, but he was convinced that Clara Burrows was involved with A.J.'s shooting. Seconds later he was on the phone to Town and telling him of the strange reaction he had gotten.

"I'll look into her background. I did find out that the club she belongs to is the San Diego gun club. According to the membership roster, she is quite active in the club's activities." Town's voice was thoughtful. "Want to take a ride out there with me?"

"Sure thing, Town. I'll pick you up as soon as I call and check in on A.J. Someone from the hospital was there earlier and I just want to see what went on." Rick promised to be at the station in twenty minutes. After a quick call to his mother, Rick was on his way. Cecilia reported that Sands had left and A.J. was sleeping. No phone calls had been received and Rick should just concentrate on finding A.J.'s shooter. Reassured, Rick left to pick up Town and headed for the station.

Town was waiting on the steps outside when Rick pulled up. He climbed into the cab and Rick drove off. On the way, Town reported that hadn't found anything on his check of the recent prison releases. He had however turned up a very interesting fact on Clara Burrows.

"It seems our Mrs. Burrows has a record. Her first husband died under mysterious circumstances back in Wyoming. Charges were never formally filed but it is still under investigation," Town said, looking at Rick's severe profile.

"How long ago was that?" Rick wanted to know.

"About fifteen years ago." Town stopped talking and studied his friend's face. "How are you holding up?" he asked softly.

"OK."

"No, your not. I've seen that look before. You're blaming yourself for A.J. getting hurt. You can't do that." Rick slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. He shut off the engine and turned to face Town, his face a mask of anger.

"Well just whose fault is it? I knew someone was after him. I let him walk out of that building. I screwed up and nearly got my brother killed! A.J. is blind because of me, Town!" Rick's voice was hard and full of self-recrimination.

"You did everything you could. You are NOT to blame. A.J. knew what he was getting into when he got into this business. So did you. How many times have the two of you gotten into and out of trouble? You remember when you were kidnapped last year? It tore A.J. up. He didn't sleep or eat until he was able to rescue you. You told him then that _your_ trouble was not _his_ fault. He believed you then and I need you to believe me now when I tell you the same thing. You are not responsible but we are going to catch whoever is. Do you understand me? We will catch the person who shot A.J." Town's voice was like a knife cutting through the self-pity that Rick was carrying around inside.

It hurt Town to talk to Rick like he had, but he knew that Rick needed it. Town had never seen two people as close as Rick and A.J. Simon. The same loyalty and compassion the two brothers had for each other extended to their friends and clients. Town himself had been the recipient of that loyalty, and he knew he was lucky to have found friends such as these. Now it was his turn to show loyalty and compassion to Rick, even if it did need to be delivered with a baseball bat.

Rick just looked at Town with pain in his eyes. "He's my brother. It was my job to look after him, and I failed."

"You did not fail. Some bastard just got lucky. His luck just ran out. Now are you with me or not?" Town held out his hand.

Rick looked at Town for a long moment before taking his hand. "Let's go. I need to get home and check on A.J. soon." Without another word, Rick started up the truck and the rest of the trip was made in silence.

At the gun club, Rick just sat in the truck after Town had climbed down from the cab. Town turned and walked over to the driver's side. Rick was sitting with his head down and his hands shaking ever so slightly. Town opened the door and just looked at his friend.

With a visible effort, Rick took a deep breath and steadied his hands. He shot a lopsided grin at Town. "Thanks, Town. Sometimes I need my head handed to me like that."

"Glad to be of service." Town answered, feeling for the first time that Rick might actually be handling his feelings.

Together the two men entered the gun club and walked over to the secretary's desk.

A small black woman in her late fifties looked up at them. "Can I help you gentlemen?"

Town held up his badge and introduced himself and Rick. "We'd like to talk to you about one of your members, a Mrs. Clara Burrows."

"One moment. I'll call our director. He'd be the one to talk to." She picked up the phone and dialed a number. She spoke quietly for a few moments then replaced the receiver. "You can go right in. It's the second door on your left." She pointed the two in the proper direction then returned to the paperwork on her desk.

Rick led the way to the indicated door. A small sign on the outside of the door read, "Dan Bleck, Director." Town knocked on the door and then opened it.

The office they walked into was well appointed with paneled walls and flowing red drapes. A redwood desk stood in front of a picture window. Rick saw that the man behind the desk was in a wheelchair.

"Come in, gentlemen. Have a seat. Mrs. Willis tells me you have questions about one of our members." He pointed to a couple of comfortable chairs in front of the desk.

"Yes sir." Town began as he seated himself. He gazed at the smaller man behind the desk before he began to speak. "We would like some information on a Mrs. Clara Burrows. We understand that she is a member here."

"Yes she is. She comes in about three times a week or so."

"What can you tell us about her?" Town took out his notepad and a pen.

"Not much really. She seems to get along well with most of our other guests, she serves on a couple of committees, and her husband never comes in. I don't know her personally."

Rick spoke up for the first time. "This is a gun club. Does Mrs. Burrows take lessons or do much shooting?"

"Yes as a matter of fact. She has won a few matches in our monthly competitions. She shoots both rifle and handgun." Bleck looked at both of his visitors quizzically. "Is there some point to all of this?"

"We just need some background information that may be related to a case we're working on. One last thing, was Mrs. Burrows close to anyone here?"

"You mean was she having an affair with anyone?" Bleck laughed. "Everyone on staff knows about her marital status. She might have been seeing one of our instructors, Ron Thomas. He was fired last week. And no, I don't know where he is. We tried to send his last check but it came back as address unknown." Bleck clasped his hands around his middle and leaned back in his chair.

Town thanked him for his help and rose to leave. Rick stopped on the way to the door and turned. "Mr. Bleck, would you happen to have any pictures of this Ron Thomas?"

"I'll see if I can find any. If I do, I'll call you if you leave me your number."

Rick fished out one of his business cards and gave it to him. After thanking him again, the two left.

Rick dropped Town off at headquarters and continued on home. He was tired and just wanted to sit and relax for a while.

As soon as Rick walked into the house, he knew something was different. Cecilia was on the phone talking excitedly to someone, and A.J. was sitting at the dining room table rubbing his eyes and looking around. Rick hurried to his brother's side. "A.J. what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I can see, Rick! I can see!" A.J.'s grin was infectious.

"You can?! How well?" Rick sat down in the chair facing his brother and looked intently at his face.

"Just bits of shadow and light for now but that's more than I had yesterday."

"The doctor wants you to come in first thing in the morning for her to look at you again," Cecilia interrupted. She gave A.J. and Rick a hug of relief. Now she knew that her son would truly be well again. Rick called Town to give him the good news. He also invited him over to dinner to celebrate.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. At ten that night, Rick walked Town back out to his car in front of the house. "Thanks for coming over, Town. And thanks for sticking by me today." Rick put his hands into his pockets and felt the tape from the answering machine. "Do me a favor would ya? Have your lab boys run this up against the one from earlier. This one is Clara Burrows. See if they match."

"Not a problem. I'll let you know in the morning. I also started a background check on Ron Thomas. I'll have more for you by then. I've also ordered a unit to keep an eye out here tonight." Rick nodded his thanks as Town continued. "What time does A.J. go to the hospital?"

"He's supposed to be there by nine. Mom and I'll take him over and I'll meet you later on." With that, Town left and Rick walked back into the house.

The next morning, Rick was drinking coffee in the kitchen when the phone rang. "Hello." Rick listened for a few moments then frowned. "Yea, I'll meet you there. Mom can take A.J. and I'll join up with them there. See ya in a few." Rick hung up the phone as Cecilia and A.J. came downstairs.

"You'll see who in a few?" A.J. asked.

"That was Town. He has some new information about our Mr. Thomas. He wants me to meet him out at the gun club."

"Well go ahead." Cecilia spoke up as she picked up her purse. "I can take A.J. to the doctor by myself. You can meet us there or back here. You just go help Town."

"Are you sure? How are you feeling this morning, A.J.?" Rick was torn between wanting to stay with his brother, and catching whoever had shot him.

"I'm feeling a lot better. You go on. I'll rest a lot better when I know that whoever shot me is in jail. Besides, you don't like the coffee at the hospital." A.J.'s grin helped Rick to make his decision.

"Okay. I'll meet you two later." Rick downed the rest of his coffee and was out the door.

Once again, Rick pulled up in front of the gun club. Town was waiting for him. "Glad you got here quick. Dan Bleck called me and said he had a picture and more information for us. I thought you'd want to be here."

"Let's go see what he wants." Rick led the way inside to the director's office. Dan Bleck met them as they knocked on the door. "Come in, gentlemen." He pushed his wheelchair back to his desk. "I have that picture you wanted." He handed it to Town as he continued; "According to our ordinance manager, Ron and Clara had been seeing each other for quite a while. But that isn't why he was fired. There were several handguns and quite a bit of ammunition missing from the supply room. Ron was the last person in the room. He wasn't charged, but he was fired."

"I see." Town handed the picture to Rick. Rick stared at it and felt the blood drain from his face. He got up and ran out the door. Town looked back at him and followed with a quick thanks to Dan Bleck. He caught up with Rick in the parking lot. "What's wrong?"

"That's the man who came to the house yesterday claiming to be from Health Services." Rick got into his truck and roared off. He covered the distance to the house in record time. He noticed the time, 9:15, maybe his mom and brother were at the hospital, and maybe he wasn't too late. His heart fell as he pulled up to the house and saw his mother's car in the driveway.

Rick almost fell out of his truck. "MOM! A.J.!"

A muffled "Help!" reached his ears. Rick traced the sound to the trunk of his mom's car. He beat on the trunk with his fist. The cry was repeated.

"Hold on!" Rick ran back over to his own truck and grabbed his key ring as Town pulled up, red light flashing on top of his car. Town jumped out and watched in horror as Rick opened the trunk of the car.

Inside, Cecilia was curled up on her side. Her face was streaked with tears as she reached out for Rick. Gently, he reached in and picked her up. "Town, call an ambulance. Mom, are you OK? What happened, where's A.J.?"

"I don't know. We were just getting into the car when someone grabbed me from behind. I heard A.J. yell then someone hit me. I woke up in there. Oh Rick! I'm scared!" Cecilia began to cry again as Rick carried her into the house and laid her on the couch. He held her tightly until the ambulance arrived.

Town ushered the ambulance attendants in and took Rick aside as they assessed Cecilia's condition. "We found where A.J. must have been dragged to a waiting car. I just got off the horn with the lab boys. It was Clara Burrows on the first tape. She and Thomas must have grabbed A.J. to finish..." Town couldn't finish the sentence. He followed Rick's eyes to where his mother was being treated with oxygen.

Rick walked over to the paramedics and asked about his mother. "She's a little disoriented from the bump on the head. We're going to take her in just as a precaution," the taller of the pair told him. He draped his stethoscope around his neck and nodded to his partner. Together they placed Cecilia on the gurney and tightened the straps.

"Rick! I don't want to go. I want to stay here." Cecilia was crying and tried to remove the mask from her face.

Rick grabbed her hands and held tight. "You let these guys take care of you. I'm going to find A.J. I'll let you know as soon as I find him."

"Promise?"

"I promise." Rick released his mother's hands and made way for the paramedics to wheel her out. He sank down on the couch and put his head in his hands. Town sat down in the chair beside the couch and put his hand on Rick's knee.

"What now?" Rick asked quietly. "I know who and how and why, but not where." Rick flopped his head back on the couch. "Where did they take him? Where do I start looking? God I feel so helpless!" Rick didn't notice the tears falling from his eyes. Town just sat; he had no answers for his friend.

One of Town's officers came in and motioned for Town to come outside. Nixon was a tall man with sandy blond hair and was also a friend of Rick and A.J.'s. He had been working on the reports that Town had requested.

"We just got an address on Thomas, Lieutenant."

"Let's roll." Town went back inside and looked at Rick. "We've got an address on Thomas. You coming?"

Rick looked up with murder in his eyes. "You're damn right I'm coming."

A.J. slowly became aware of sounds coming from in front of him. His head hurt worse than before and he couldn't figure out where he was. With a start, he remembered. He tried to stand up and realized he was tied to a chair. "Mom!" he called. He heard the voices stop and could just make out two dark figures coming towards him.

"She's not here." A hand grabbed his hair and forced his face up. "So you're blind, huh? I told you that the day you said my husband wasn't cheating on me. Guess now you really are." Clara dropped his head. "So now we wait."

"For what?" A.J. had trouble getting the words out.

"For tonight. We're leaving tonight. We hadn't planned on collecting you for our little outing quite yet, but the opportunity was just too good to pass up."

"Let me get this straight. You're gonna kill me for your husband Not cheating on you?" A.J. was incredulous.

"Yes. Right after I kill him. That way I get all the money, and you can't be traced back to me." Clara left him then to sit by himself and worry.

Rick was riding in Town's car. Town didn't trust Rick to drive as upset as he was. He jumped as the radio crackled again. Town picked it up. "Go."

Nixon's voice came over the radio. "Just thought you'd like to know. We have a unit on scene. It looks the car is there along with another car. The car is licensed to a Clara Burrows."

"Thank you, Nixon. Don't let anybody near enough to spook them. I'll be there in two minutes." Town hung up the mike and looked at Rick. His friend hadn't said a word the whole trip and Town was worried about his state of mind. He wanted to tell Rick to hang back and let the police handle it, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. Rick Simon would move heaven and hell to get to his brother.

At the scene, Town and the other officers parked in front of the house. Town detailed some men to clear the houses on either side of the suspect house. Additionally, he signaled two men to go around back and cover the back door. The rest of the ten men, he signaled to scatter out and cover the house from all sides, finding whatever cover they could.

Town checked to see that all of his men were in position. He motioned for Rick to take a stand on the side of the car with him, and then he reached in and grabbed his bullhorn.

"This is the San Diego Police Department. Come out with your hands up!" His answer was a shot fired from the front room.

"Back off!" A man's voice yelled. "I swear he's a dead man if you do anything."

Inside the house, A.J.'s spirits soared as he heard Town's voice. If Town was there, so was Rick. A.J. squinted his eyes as he tried to make sense of the images around him. He heard Thomas' answer, now he could hear Burrows and Thomas fighting. He wished there was some way to let Rick know where he was.

Outside, Town and Rick could also hear the argument. Rick knew that if there was any more shooting, A.J. could wind up as the first casualty. He had an idea, if only he could get Town to agree. He whispered his plan to Town and watched as Town planned his answer. Rick had never told Town how he could see the different thoughts race across his face as he thought of them. Finally, Town agreed.

Rick made his way slowly and carefully around the side of the house as Town began talking to the couple inside. His plan was to sneak in and remove A.J., leaving the field open for the police to storm the house. He had the best chance of getting in undetected and was less of a threat to the people inside.

Rick found what he was looking for, an open window in a back bedroom. As silently as possible, he cut the screen out and climbed in. He drew his gun as he peeked around the corner. In the living room just down the hall, he could see both Thomas and Clara with drawn guns. Even if he did manage to get the drop on them, he was outgunned. Normally, that wouldn't have stopped him, but this time, A.J.'s life was on the line. He gripped his gun tighter and ventured out into the hall.

Another corner and he paused again. On his left was another bedroom, empty. On his right was the kitchen, and A.J. His brother was tied to a kitchen chair, looking paler than he had that morning. A line of blood ran down beside his right ear. He looked to be conscious and very aware of what was happening. Rick turned the corner and made his way to A.J.

"Help's here, little brother," he whispered.

A.J. fought not to jump at the sound of his brother's voice. The ghost of a smile reached his lips. "I knew you'd come. Untie me hurry." He strained to see Rick's face. As Rick knelt down to untie his ankles, A.J. made out another shape behind his brother, and the unmistakable outline of a gun.

"Behind you, Rick!" Rick turned and fired at Ron Thomas coming up behind him. Thomas' shot went wide and hit the cabinet instead of Rick. Clara came running into the kitchen and pointed her gun at Rick's head as she watched her lover drop to the floor. Rick dropped his gun and spread his hands out wide.

Just as Clara raised her gun, the front door was kicked open and Town burst in, gun drawn. "Drop it! Get down on the floor." Clara froze. Town came up from behind her and took the gun out of her hand.

Rick returned to his job of freeing A.J. As he did so, A.J. spoke up. "How's mom? Did you find her?" His voice sounded funny to his own ears.

"Mom's fine. They locked her in the trunk of the car. She's in the hospital waiting for you." Rick untied the last knot and helped A.J. to stand up. He felt his brother wobble and caught him just as A.J.'s world went dark.

The next time A.J. woke up, he looked up into the worried eyes of his brother and mother. His head was hurting again and the bright light of the hospital examining room hurt his eyes.

"How are you?" His mom asked gently.

"My head hurts."

"I'll bet. You've got quite a collection of bumps there." Rick spoke up. "Good to see you awake. You had us all scared there for a while."

"Good to see you too." Then the events of the past few days came flooding back and he sat up, unheeding the throbbing in his head. "I can see you!"

"Oh A.J. That's wonderful!" Cecilia wrapped her arms around him and held him close. "I'll get the doctor." She gave Rick a knowing smile as she left the room.

"You saved my life back there, A.J." Rick began. He gripped A.J.'s shoulder and pushed him back down on the bed. "That's another I owe you."

A.J. reached up and laid his hand on top of Rick's. "You don't owe me anything. I'm just glad you were around."

"Don't you know? You're stuck with me. I'll always be around." Rick couldn't keep the tears out of his voice.

"I know Rick. I know."

The End


End file.
